Motorsport Ireland Weekend Roundup

2014 National Rallycross champion Declan Kelly (Fiesta)

Dubliner Declan Kelly yesterday clinched his first National Rallycross Championship by winning the Super Final at Co Kildare MC's final round of the series at Mondello Park, with his Ford Fiesta leading the Escort of former champion Tommy Graham across the finish line in the main race of the day.

This was Kelly's third Super Final win this year, but title rival Thomas O'Rafferty mounted a strong challenge by winning on the last three outings, leaving the championship as a duel between them. In the third qualifying heat, the two Fiestas touched, with O'Rafferty spinning into a bank, damaging his car too badly to take part in the finals and leaving the Super Final as an anti-climax.

Earlier, Graham had won the Modified A Final, with Niall Murray beating his elder brother Eoin to take the Stock Hatch 16 valve race. Noel O'Brien again took the 8 valve Final, with Jake Dooley well clear of his opposition in the Junior Final.

In Longford, the Duffy family dominated Midland MC's round of the National Navigation Trial Championship with Pakie and Colin Duffy, the father and son rivals, sharing top place having stayed unpenalised throughout the 75 mile route based on Ballinalee.

Colin and his navigator Sam Johnston, the current National title holders, and Pakie, with former champion navigator Evin Hughes, were equal on all of the tie-breakers, and were three marks clear of surprise third place finishers, novices Damien Kellegher and Gordon McGirl.